You Think You're Cooler Than Me
by xCatseyesx
Summary: Last year was tough for Quinn Fabray. With the beginning of a new term she has the oppertunity to put it all behind her and start afresh but when someone unexpected comes into her life, can she find the strength to drop her barriers?
1. Prologue

You want to know something about me? Why the hell do you think you deserve to know? Well, since you aren't sporting a Jew fro or an obscenely ugly argyle sweater which looks like it was knitted by a blind fisherman, I will humour you. I'm Captain of the cheer squad, Head of the celibacy club, girlfriend of the star quarterback, daughter to a proud father, Head bitch in charge and all round queen of the school.

That was me ten months ago, the old me, the girl with the perfect life. I had everything. What happened? I was stupid. I let my guard down and made a mistake that changed everything. What I want is my life back and nothing is going to stand in my way, not even the track suited form of coach Sylvester. I'm going to be back on top and I will do anything and everything to get there. All you need to know is that 1) I'm Quinn Fabray 2) I always get what I want and 3) Don't get in my way.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N Hi guys! I wasn't expecting any reviews for the prologue but a big thank you to those that did, that's amazing! I originally liked the Quinn/Sam relationship on Glee but a few more eps in found me not so fussed! So here is my version of how things could have gone with some bits taken from glee, others inserted from my own head. Don't despair over this chapter; I plan for this to be a long story so it might start off a little slow. I love opinions of what I have written, good or bad, so feel free to voice them or to make suggestions. I hope you enjoy what I write and I apologise in advance for my grammar which has been atrocious since and during school! **

**All characters belong to the creators of Glee, I'm just adding a little extra.**

She was early and, despite her best efforts, her nerves were starting to rear their ugly heads. Quinn busied herself organising her locker, trying to ignore the gradual increase in volume which signalled the arrival of the rest of the school. A group of younger students were conversing in hushed tones a few lockers down, slipping furtive glances in her direction as she sorted her folders. She slammed her locker door shut with more force that necessary, inwardly cursing as the largest member of the group gave a small laugh. Relief came in the form of head cheerio Santana Lopez closely followed by Brittany.

"Out the way freshman!" she snarled scattering them as easily as a flock of frightened birds. Santana settled herself against the lockers, smirking as she watched the remainder of the hallway students stumbling over each other to get out of her eye line. Brittany briefly glanced in Quinn's direction before turning to Santana who had now turned her attention to her nails.

"Where's Quinn? I thought you she said she'd meet us by her locker."

"It's me Britt" Quinn answered patiently. The ditzy blonde frowned at her.

"No...Quinn was pungent." Santana snorted as Quinn glared at Brittany.

"I think you mean pregnant Britt."

"Oh...Then what happened-"Quinn cut her off hurriedly, knowing the other blonde wouldn't understand the subject was a delicate one.

"Good summer? " Quinn glanced at the Latina leaning on the lockers who merely shrugged and continued to nonchalantly buff her nails. Santana's shrug drew Quinn's attention to her chest and the blonde narrowed her eyes at the increased movement.

"See something you like?" Santana drawled. Quinn raised her eyebrow already knowing the answer.

"Please tell me you didn't?"

"S got a boob jab!" Brittany beamed. The Latina rolled her eyes.

"You mean boob **job** Britt, **job**."

"Like the time I gave money to that man in a hat and he told me to go stand on a platform but I went to go feed the ducks instead." Quinn and Santana exchanged a look. Quinn loved Brittany, almost as much as Santana, but she still had no idea how the girl had managed to pass junior year let alone find her way to class. She sighed at the taller blonde who was staring happily into space and returned her attention back to Santana.

"Coach Sylvester is never going to let you cheer with those." Santana smirked.

"Worried about me Q? The head cheerleader is the bitch in charge. I mean," Her gaze dropped to Quinn's cream cardigan before returning to examine her nails once again. "You should know." Quinn grit her teeth refusing to take the bait.

"I can see a cloud." Brittany commented brightly. Santana's lips curled in disgust as she glanced over Quinn's shoulder

"Jew fro alert." Quinn just had time to pick up her bag before a hand held microphone was shoved into her face.

"How has life changed after the birth of your bastard child?"

_Great job Fabray. You lasted a grand total of twenty minutes. _

The horror that was Ben Jacob Israel and his film crew had caught her by surprise and had since left her reeling. To avoid a potential emotional breakdown, she had excused herself from first period to rush into the nearest bathroom and had yet to return to class. Thankfully it had been Spanish and Mr Schuster was unlikely to send someone in after her or give her a detention for skipping. She was facing the row of sinks, hands clutching the rim tightly, staring at herself in the mirror. Behind her calm cool exterior, her thoughts were spinning uncontrollably like a whirlwind. She was annoyed at herself for letting Jacob's words get to her. Obviously people were going to comment on the fact she was no longer 'the pregnant cheerio' . What she hadn't expected were people to be so in her face about it, asking questions with little tact or respect. While she was pregnant, people had simply just ignored her. Within the space of two months she had gone from being the most popular girl in school, both loved and feared, to being almost completely invisible. During that trying time she had chosen to take all her anger and frustration out on those around her, deliberately attempting to hurt those closest to her. She initially blamed Puck for all her problems. True, he had gotten her drunk on wine coolers and she had been feeling low due to another of coach Sylvester's "fat interventions" but she still could have said no. At that moment she wanted it and that brief lapse of judgement cost her greatly. It was her poor decisions that had lost her everything, no-one else's, she was fully responsible. She brushed her hand over her flat stomach, remembering the small life it had once held. She would and could never hate her little girl; she had been the only good thing to come out of this mess. A wave of emotion coursed through her as the memory of walking out the hospital minus her child began to resurface in her mind. _No!_ She clenched her eyes shut, pushing her feelings down_. I am not going to cry over this again, especially not in the middle of a school bathroom. Get a grip!_

"Quinn?" A voice echoed off the tiled space and Quinn barely resisted the urge to bang her head off the mirror as she recognised the voice's owner. _Just perfect._

"What do you want RuPaul?" she growled as she opened her eyes to find Rachel Berry standing a few feet behind her, brown eyes radiating concern. _That's all she needed, pity from Berry. _The smaller girl ducked her head, watching Quinn's reflection.

"I heard what Jacob said to you."

"And?" Quinn fiddled with the braid in her hair, feigning disinterest. Part of her was actually a little curious as to why Rachel would take it upon herself to come and see if Jacob's words had had any effect on the blonde. What was even more puzzling was the realisation that Rachel was not in her Spanish class, suggesting that the diva had left her own class to search for Quinn. The other part of her, a much larger part, was reminding her it was Rachel Berry she was talking to. And she despised Rachel Berry.

"Quinn. I know you and I have never seen eye to eye mainly due to the fact that every time I have tried to be nice to you have either slushied me or called me one of several names that bring into question my gender which I can assure you is not of the male variety." Quinn snorted at the typical Rachel Berry style rant. That girl could never speak simply; she always had to use double the amount of words necessary to illustrate a point. While Quinn mused, Rachel had taken a few steps closer to the blonde, finally locking eyes with her and addressing her in a quiet voice.

"You need someone, someone you can trust, someone you can talk to. You can't go on like this, pretending you don't care to hide the fact that you are still hurting. It may seem easier not to feel anything because it's too difficult to drop your walls and let someone in. I know you are hurting." Quinn dropped her gaze and Rachel's voice softened further

"I'm not stupid enough to think you'll want to confide in me but I want you to know that I do care for your wellbeing and if you ever need a friend," Rachel timidly rested her hand on Quinn's shoulder. "I am here for you." She gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. Quinn was momentarily lost for words at the brunettes actions. She was already emotionally drained from the morning's events and with Rachel's words hitting a little too close to the mark, Quinn had had enough.

"Listen manhands." Rachel snatched her hand away as if she had been burned and Quinn turned to face the girl, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"I don't need you or anyone else. Not that my needs have anything to do with you." She sneered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So why don't you run along and go steal some old woman's clothing to add to your collection." Her inner bitch purred with delight as she looked Rachel up and down with her trademark smirk in place, hands resting on her hips.

"It can't get much worse than what you are already wearing." Rachel gaped at her, eyes widened in shock. But then, to Quinn's annoyance, the girl gave her a small nod and a hint of a smile before backing away from the angry blonde, turning to exit the bathroom. Once she had gone Quinn let out a frustrated sigh. She needed her life back. Rachel Berry walking in thinking she knew how Quinn was feeling and trying for her friendship was the last straw. Not that Rachel's words had had any effect on her or were now causing Quinn to feel a slight amount of guilt for her behaviour. No. Not a chance. What she needed was her position of head cheerio back and to do that she needed to persuade coach Sylvester which really meant a choice between blackmail or begging and there was no way she was going to give that woman the satisfaction of watching her beg. She turned back to the mirror for one final look at herself. Determined hazel eyes stared back. No, she would have to be clever...

_It's now or never. Time to remind them all that the old Quinn Fabray never really left_.

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N I'm not 100% happy with this chapter (mainly the Santana Quinn dialogue) so it may get edited at a later date, it's more of a filler really. I hate to say it but bitch Quinn is probably going to hang around for a bit, it's a defence mechanism I swear! Thanks for everyone following and feel free to leave me your thoughts (and possible outcry's :P) of this chapter- xCatseyesx **

**As always the characters belong to the creators of glee, I'm just adding a little extra.**

It had all been uncharacteristically easy. Then again, maybe coach Sylvester had something nasty up her sleeve. Quinn had turned up at cheer tryouts, ignoring the other would be cheerleaders who recognised her as the captain of the year before and felt the need to discuss her "retirement" loudly amongst themselves. As expected coach Sylvester had taken one look at her and flat out refused but Quinn had prepared a back up. She knew Sue's budget had been cut this year, meaning that some of the coach's more extravagant requests, such as a confetti canon, had been scrapped. A less than subtle bribe had changed Sue's mind and the disgruntled coach let her back on the team. Still not quite believing it, Quinn had changed into her uniform straight away and was relieved that it fit almost perfectly. Not that she had expected it not to, her summer had been spent relentlessly getting back into shape and shedding all of her baby weight, even though there had never been much in the first place. As she stepped out into the corridor, putting as much sway into her walk as possible, the student body parted like the red sea just like it had in the days before she was pregnant. Everything was slowly coming back together again. Her life was finally on the way up and it made her feel unstoppable.

"You fucking bitch!" Quinn turned, coming face to face with Santana, the other girl pushing right into Quinn's personal space.

"You told coach Sylvester about my summer surgery!" she shouted in Quinn's face.

"Surgery is when you get your appendix out, you got a boob job!" Quinn kept her voice level, intending to brush the Latina off. "It's not like half the school haven't noticed you have gone up several cup sizes."

"Well thanks to you, I have been demoted and now Sylvester is treating me like her personal slave!"

Quinn made to move past the girl but Santana was having none of it. She body blocked Quinn.

"Let me past." The blonde growled.

"Careful Q," Santana hissed in her ear. "You can't blame it on the baby hormones anymore!"

"How is your daughter anyway? Santana taunted. Quinn's eyes widened at the Latina's new angle of attack and Santana bared her teeth in triumph.

"Oh, Sorry! I forgot. You discarded your daughter like she was yesterday's trash!"

Hot, fierce emotion surged through Quinn and her already weakened control snapped. Before she knew what she was doing she had used all her strength to shove the unsuspecting girl into the lockers, Santana's shoulder smacking into the cold hard metal with a painful clang. Before either girl could gain control of the situation, the Latina made a surprisingly quick recovery and lunged at Quinn, one hand digging her nails into the blonde's arm, the other tangled into her hair, tugging unmercifully on the blonde tendrils. The girls tussled for dominance, screaming obscenities between actual cries of pain, other students halting to watch the scuffle from a safe distance. The Latina briefly managed to gain the upper hand and Quinn ended up on the hallway floor, Santana bearing down on her. Suddenly Brittany appeared surprising them both by wrapping her arms around Santana in a bear hug, forcefully pinning the girl's arms to her sides. The furious Latina continued to buck and struggle against Brittany as she was slowly but determinedly pulled away from Quinn but the taller girl did not loosen her grip around Santana.

A pair of strong arms hoisted Quinn off the floor and she snapped her head around to snarl at the interfering individual only to find that it was a very angry Mr Schuester.

"I don't know who started it but that is ENOUGH!"

Quinn's heart was beating as wildly as it did when she had been running and she was panting, a mixture of adrenaline and fury still coursing through her veins.

"I don't want to but if I hear of anything like this happening again, I will be forced to have a word with coach Sylvester."

Santana opened her mouth to form a smart-ass retort but the taller blonde hurriedly whispered words in the girl's ear. The latina snorted but made no further comment and finally ceased her struggling. With a nod from Mr Schuester, Brittany released Santana who immediately turned on her heel and stalked off in the opposite deirection. Once she had turneda corner and vanished from view, Mr Schuester finally removed his hands from Quinn's arms where they had been gently supporting her and turned to face her. The blonde's breathing was beginning to return to normal but her heart beat still remained erratic as she tried to rein in her emotions

"Are you ok?" Mr Schuester asked, his worried eyes taking in her loosened ponytail and facial expression.

"Yeah, I think so" She shakily raised her arm to examine several scratch marks inflicted by the Latina. "Just a couple of minor injuries."

Mr Schuester frowned at the marks but Quinn was too tired to deal with the concern followed by questioning she knew was coming. She just wanted to get to glee club and try and have a normal end to the day.

"Quinn-"

"Please Mr Schuh, can we do this later." She kept her voice as emotionless as possible as she began to straighten her uniform, partially covering the scratches. "Glee club is about to start." Mr Schuester glanced at the hallway clock and sighed.

"I will make an appointment with Miss Pillsbury for you tomorrow during Spanish class. Brittany, will you come help me find Santana and calm her down?"

Brittany was hovering a few feet away, baby blue eyes focussed on Quinn, clearly torn between the wellbeing of her two friends.

"It's ok Britt. I don't mind."

The taller blonde smiled apologetically before turning to follow Mr Schuester down the corridor, their steps quickening when it became clear that the Latina had already begun to take her frustration out on innocent bystanders. Quinn quickly re-tied her hair, grabbed her bag which had been thrown into the corner of the lockers and made her way to the choir room where the rest of the glee club were already seated, chatting excitedly with each other.

Rachel raised her head from its position on Finn's shoulder as Quinn entered the room and she tried to unsuccessfully catch the blonde's attention. Quinn ignored her and took the empty seat next to Mercedes who halted her conversation with Kurt as soon as Quinn sat down.

"Girl I know you and Santana have that whole top of the pyramid vendetta thing but that was a whole other level. Don't you think that got a little out of hand?" Quinn raised her shoulders in a non committed shrug and the other two exchanged a look. Mercedes didn't press her for more information on the subject and instead returned her attention to Kurt, resuming their discussion on Rachel's poor choice of sweater for the day.

A little out of hand was an understatement. Mercedes was right; the girls did have a rivalry within the cheerleading squad which had, on occasions, gotten a little out of control but never to this extent. Santana was a button pusher, she always had been. She excelled in finding people's weak spot's then attacking them with brutal accuracy. It was Quinn who had behaved out of character, snapping when Santana's words had gotten to her. She could have just told Santana outright that she wasn't the one who informed coach Sylvester about the Latina's boob job. Maybe she had slipped back too easily into the role of head bitch, revelling in the fact that Santana had believed that the blonde had got one over her but Quinn did feel guilty for injuring her sometimes friend. She sighed and tucked a stray hair behind one of her ears. She was a mess. This day had been harder than it should have been and now all she wanted to do was go home and emotionally prepare herself for tomorrow's possible onslaught but instead she was stuck at Glee club. As long as no-one had any more questions for her or even tried to speak to her, she would be fine.

Mr Schuester entered the choir room, followed by the remaining two cheerleaders. Brittany had her arm looped through one of Santana's whose hair was still a little dishevelled and a nasty red patch was starting to form where her body had come into contact with the lockers. Santana refused to make eye contact with Quinn and allowed Brittany to lead her to the back of the choir room where she sat in silence, eyes downcast, the blonde cheerleader's hand resting gently but firmly on her knee. Mr Schuester clapped his hands together causing a halt in the club's conversations and he addressed them as one.

"First off I'd like to welcome you all back to Glee club and again say how proud I was of your performance at regional's. I know you are all disappointed that we came in third but let's use that as motivation for this year's competition. Sectionals are only a couple of months away and I think we stand a very good chance of qualifying. That being said, we really need to come together as a team. Judging from the scene that just went on in the hallway, I'd say we have a lot of work to do in that department."

Quinn shifted in her seat as Mr Schuester's eyes briefly rested on her and she tried to fight the blush of embarrassment and guilt slowly working its way up her chest. She could hear Mike quietly relaying the hallway incident behind her to a puzzled Puck and Artie. For once it seemed Santana didn't want to comment, possibly due to the fact that Brittany had tightened her grip on the Latina's leg.

"Dude, please tell me someone caught it on their phone." Puck laughed as he high fived Mike.

Mr Schuester glared at the two boys until they settled down before carrying on.

"As some of you may have noticed, we are now down to eleven members due to Matt transferring."

There were a couple of nods, mainly from the guys of the group.

"Therefore I'd like to introduce you all to a new student and glee member." He ushered to a figure that had been standing unnoticed against the outside of the choir room door.

"Sam Evans"


End file.
